THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part)    Lacertidae  

Common Wall Lizard
Podarcis muralis (Laurenti, 1768)

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 Native to Europe. It was introduced to New Jersey (Conant, 1945, Copeia 1945: 233) and is established in Indiana (Walker and Deichsel, 2005, Herpetological Review 36: 302), Kentucky (Draud and Ferner, 1994, Herpetological Review 25: 33), Ohio (Vigle, 1977, Herpetological Review Supplement 8: 19), and British Columbia (Allan et al., 1993, The ecology of introduced Common Wall Lizards (Podarcis muralis) in Saanich, Vancouver Island. Final Report, British Columbia Ministry of Environment. 24pp; Kraus, 2009, Alien Reptiles and Amphibians: A Scientific Compendium and Analysis. SpringerVerlag, Heidelberg, Germany).

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2025.04.03.09.46.24)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.44 MB

Province/State Distribution:
Canada: British Columbia
USA: Kentucky Ohio

First instance(s) of published English names:
Wall Lizard (Lacerta muralis: Gray, John E. 1830. A synopsis of the species of the class reptilia. Pages 1-110 in The Animal Kingdom Arranged in Conformity with its Organization by the Baron Cuvier, member of teh Institute of France, with Additional Descriptions of all the Species Hitherto Named, and of many not before noticed. Ninth Volume. Whittaker, Treacher, and Company, London, England. pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1768 Laurenti, Josephi N. Specimen medicum exhibens synopsin reptilium emendatam cum experimentis circa venena et antidota reptilium austriacorum. [A medical specimen presenting an improved synopsis of reptiles with experiments on the venoms and antidotes of Austrian reptiles.] Typ. Joan. Thom. Nob. de Trattnern, Viennae. 214pp.
1977 Vigle, G. O. The history and distribution of an introduced population of Lacerta muralis (Reptilia, Sauria, Lacertidae), in Cincinnati, Ohio. Herpetological Review Supplement 8:19
1993 Allan, Michael, Patrick T. Gregory, and Christopher J. Prelypchan. The ecology of introduced Common Wall Lizards (Podarcis muralis) in Saanich, Vancouver Island. Final Report, British Columbia Ministry of Environment. 24pp.
1994 Draud, Matthew and John Ferner. Podarcis muralis (common wall lizard). USA: Kentucky. Herpetological Review 25(1):33
1999 Harris, D. James, and E. Nicholas Arnold. Relationships of wall lizards, Podarcis (Reptilia: Lacertidae) based on mitochondrial DNA sequences. Copeia 1999(3):749-754
2005 Walker, Z. and Guntram Deichsel. Geographic distribution: Podarcis muralis. Herpetological Review 36:302
2005 Podnar, Martina, Werner Mayer, and Nikola Tvrtkovic. Phylogeography of the Italian wall lizard, Podarcis sicula, as revealed by mitochondrial DNA sequences. Molecular Ecology 2005(14):575–588

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Saturday 26 April 2025 22:56 CT